The captain’s cabin is a wreck — a jagged hole in the side has allowed most of the room’s contents to spill out into the surf and wash away. Yet you do find some useful supplies, most of which are found in an overturned desk (fortunately, the desk was too large to fit through the hole in the wall). One upper drawer contains several keys. Another drawer contains several sea charts and maps, along with the captain’s log. The maps include one of the west coast of Garund that plots the Jenivere’s route to and from Sargava—the island of Smuggler’s Shiv is not marked on this map, but it is marked on a second map of Desperation Bay, though the map provides no details on the island apart from its general outline and a note warning of danger. A lower desk drawer is locked.

Although the majority of the Jenivere’s food stores were kept in the now-missing cargo below, enough preserved rations are stored in the larder to supply a single person with food for 24 days. In the same larder you make a gruesome discovery: the body of the cook, with some discolored bite marks on his shoulders and neck.

Heal 16:

Spoiler:

The bite marks are serpentine in origin, although from a rather large snake.

The door to the supply room below (where the sea scorpion was) is stuck.

"Go back to hell with you beast" Surkoff screams as his blade digs deep into the creature.

Looking at the body of Turillo. "Even a terrible cook deserves a death better than this, what manner of creature could have done this?Heal: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

Surkoff heads over to the stuck door. "Let's find out what is behind the door." Then yelling loudly "If any are behind the door I suggest you move now.". Surkoff puts his shoulder down and attempts to power through the door.
Strength Check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

The door gives way and lets you into the supply room, where you are greeted by yet another dead body, this time the first mate Alton Devers. His body is marked by two different types of wounds, both diverse kinds of puncture wounds.

First set (Heal 16):

Spoiler:

These were made with a rapier.

Second set (Heal 16):

Spoiler:

These are inflamed poisonous stings, and the poison is what killed him.

He still wears his masterwork studded leather armor and clutches a masterwork shortsword in one hand.

After some rummaging you come up with quite a lot of useful equipment: a block and tackle, three large canvas sheets, two fishing nets, a grappling hook, two bullseye lanterns, 12 flasks of lantern oil, 150 feet of hemp rope, and five shovels.

"Hmm...some good stuff in here. Any of you bigger fellows want to carry it?"

* * *
Quij grimaces in the act of inspecting the wounds they come upon. "Looks to me as though the cook's wounds were made by some sort of snake. And a large one, at that. Devers', however, were both animal and man-made: he took some damage from a rapier, but it was some sort of poisonous sting that done him in."

A rapier? Torch thinks, looking at the first mate's body. "The ssssssea scorpions probably kkkkkilled Devers... though th-th-that doesn't explain who st-st-stabbed him. If Ttttterillo survived the wreck, I ggggguess a sea snake ccccould have bitten him." Torch seems skeptical of the idea, though.

He returns to the captain's quarters, staring at the locked desk drawer and his own shaking hands. Shaking his head, he pulls out a small set of tools and very slowly and very carefully begins to see if he can open it.

I'd like to take 20 on a Perception check to see if there are any traps, and if there aren't any, take 20 again on a Disable Device check to get the drawer open. If taking 20 isn't an option, I'll start making some rolls. If I can take 20, the Perception check is a 27 and the Disable Device is a 23.

"Did anyone try the keys?" Surkoff says pointing at the keys found in the other drawers. "If that doesn't work I have my own key right here". Surkoff pulls out his warhammer and slaps it into his hand a few times.

"Well done human! That thing is better off cut in half! As for the dead I'm sorry for them, I think we should bring them back on the beach and bury them properly"

Heal checks for Hrakar:

Turillo's: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Alton's 1: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Alton's 2: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

"I dare say the gnome is correct about the cook, these are clearly marks from a serpent's bite... although a rather largish one. As for poor mr Alton, I can't say what killed him... the gnome guess seems as good as any. As for all the good stuff we found, it's clear we'll need to bring it back on the beach... and I think everyone should help carrying it... and "everyone" includes you too, mr Quixjangatare"

Quij makes an unpleasant face at the dwarf's insinuation, which Ilum copies to the best of its ability. "I resent that, sir dwarf. I merely meant to point out that, as the smallest member of our boarding party, I was ill-equipped to provide the majority of the muscle in regards to transporting gear. I had no intentions of not contributing. Here....see? As he speaks this last sentence, Quij busies himself with gathering the maps, charts and captain's log found on the desk. "Paper," he grinned. "The perfect item to be carried by a fragile creature of the gods such as myself. I'm sure Ilum would be glad to carry some of that rope, too, if you need the assistance, kind sir."

Meanwhile, back on shore Ralf hunts around for a rock and tries feebly to smash Jenk's chains open, thinking that it's not humane to keep a fellow castaway shackled in a land of cannibals and other dangers.

You use one of the shovels to pry the drawer open and after some false starts it gives way.

Inside there is a bottle of fine brandy worth 50 gp, a darkwood model of the Jenivere in a glass bottle worth 100 gp, and a small coffer containing 350 gp. Also in this lower drawer is a long leather satchel
that holds a dozen potions.

I also forgot to mention a footlocker next to the desk (I really need to hone my reading skills) containing some gear, including a masterwork dagger, a suit of leather armor, two potions, a holy symbol of Nethys, and a spell component pouch.

what kind of potions if I may ask? And I have a request: could you please not give us the value of the stuff we find? I think it will be more entertaining to try to gauge it on our own (but no biggie if you don't want to)

Let's go people, we have some friends to give back to Torag's embrace and much needed supplies to salvage

Yeah, sorry about the stuff. Just got used to the Appraise DCs being too low to bother with. Forgot that you're still level 1. Concerning the potions, that's a Perception check to taste them or a Spellcraft check to identify using Detect Magic.

That is indeed all and you reunite with your fellow castaways on the beach. Ishirou and Gelik look with interest at your finds, but Aerys and Jask are still rather apathetic.

The potions come in two sets of four and four unique ones. The two potions found in the locker are identical.

As the others worked to sort out as proper a burial as possible given the circumstances, Quij busied himself with having Ilum try to determine the nature of the potions the group found.

Not sure what the DC is - if I can just take 10 (Ilum's modifier is +12), I'll do that. Here are some rolls just in case. Kuddos on keeping everything moving, by the way - I've had games which would take 10 days to sort out the scene on the ship.

As you busy yourselves digging two graves for Turillo and Devers (all the NPCs chip in and take turns), you can't help noticing that it gets pretty hot on this island at midday, and you would do well to put up some sort of shelter.

"I will see the dead brought back to Torag's Embrace. They may not have been of the faith, but everyone goes back to the father of creation, sooner or later" The dwarf offices a brief ritual for the cook and the first mate, then helps the others bury them.

What now, people? We have salvaged a lot of material... I think we could build a raft and leave this rock behind us, there seem to be a lot of trees around here anyway, and we could use those maps we found to navigate towards Eleder once we are ready"

How do we proceed with the loot? I think front liners should get the healing potions, I'd like to get the water related potions as Hrakar can't swim, armor and weapons don't interest me, although I'm curious about Nethys' holy symbol, the money should be split evenly, while I don't know what to do with the glass bottle and brandy. As for the maps, could Ralf use them? Anything interesting about them (like tresaure crosses and the like :D), or in the captain log?
One last thing: I hope not to be rude, as it's not my intention but Qui could you please roll a little less (not much, just a little :D)? Anytime there's a test you roll at least six times for everything... I think other people would like to feel useful too

As you busy yourselves digging two graves for Turillo and Devers (all the NPCs chip in and take turns), you can't help noticing that it gets pretty hot on this island at midday, and you would do well to put up some sort of shelter.

That's the plan as soon as we get them safely buried. Is there a roll for that? Pretty sure I forgot to take Knowledge (engineering)...

Looks like the lead roller should be either Torch or Ralf. Pity we can't wait for nightfall and get that hefty Charisma bonus...

Actually, I'm going to be fairly busy this next few days, and probably won't be around the boards more than once a day or so. So I'd nominate Ralf to be the lead, and I'll go ahead and roll my Aid Another: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Sorry guys, I am out of town right now so my time online is somewhat spotty. I will try and keep up on the story.

Surkoff takes the lead on digging the graves, almost as if he has done this sort of activity before.

For splitting loot I nominate that we have one person divide the loot up and let each person know what they should be adding to their inventory. If there are items that people want specifically, they need to post requests for those items. My vote is to have Hrakar be in charge of this (if willing). Surkoff can carry quite a bit so if there is useful stuff that no-one has room for give it to me.

Ralf is delighted by the amount of stuff that the boys managed to salvage from the ship. He does his part in helping set up the camp site, but he also suggests freeing Jask from his manacles; "It just ain't right to keep a man tied up when there's cannibals and wild beasts around, dadgummit."

At this rate it is going to take you five hours to set up camp. You can shave a couple of hours off that by making more Aid Another rolls or by convincing the NPCs to help. Especially you'll need to decide what to do about Jask.

Aerys expresses interest in the brandy you found (which incidentally is the last remaining bottle from Surkoff's cargo (at least as far as you know) but not in much else. Gelik gives a running commentary on your work but isn't really helping. Jask is still shackled. Sasha and Ishirou watch you work with some interest while chatting idly.

To get the NPCs to actually help you'll need a bit of smooth talking and/or a Diplomacy check.

Well, Hrakar is far from being a smooth talker... he's pedantic and obnosxious, but that doesn't mean he knows it... which means he'll try to interrogate Jask in order to estabilish the truth about his circumstances...
As for splitting loot I'm willing to help: I'll post a list of what we have and you can tell what you'd like to have (including the other castaways... they are people too! :D).

(shouting to be heard by Ralf)"I don't know if we can safely free him, friend! He may be a murderer or worse! I think he should tell us his story and if there's any proof to prove his innocence! then speaking to Jask "What did you do to deserve imprisonment? You claimed innocence before, but there's any way you can prove these claims of yours? You said you were a servant of Nethys... we found his holy symbol on the ship is that yours? The idea of a fellow servant of the gods being imprisoned pains me, but Nethys is known as the good of protection and destruction, are you the former or the latter?

Ralf shrugs at whatever it is Hrakar is saying and replies, "Yep, it ain't right to leave a man helpless in this place; it just ain't right. I don't care what he's done."

He turns to Sasha and Ishirou and pipes up: "Say, why don't you folks lend a hand? You can't leave all the hard work to an old gaffer like me! Unless you fancy sleeping in a bush tonight while we're all snug in our hut..." He winks to show he's joking about the last bit.

Sasha laughs. "I'm not taking orders from an old coot." Ishirou makes no move either.

You could try to Aid another if you like to convince them, or you might try to talk to them on your own.

As the day wears on, it gets hotter and hotter, and by noon it's almost unbearably hot. You'll have to postpone getting the camp in order a few hours until it's cooler or you will have to start making Fortitude saves.

Jask answers Hrakar: "This is my story, dwarf. I was once employed by the Sargavan government, but when I uncovered evidence of corruption involving illicit deals with the Free Captains of the Shackles, I confronted my superior. But then he betrayed me and framed me for his own crimes. Rather than go to jail for something I didn't do, I fled all the way to Corentyn, where I lived the modest life of a scribe for a decade."

"I'd thought my enemies in Sargava had forgotten me by now, but then a Sargavan agent caught up with me and put me in irons. The agent handed Jask over to the captain of the Jenivere with instructions to return Jask to Sargava for trial, and the rest you know."

"But all that is neither here nor there. If you free me and return my equipment, I might be of some help to you. Or we could all perish on this forsaken island. Frankly I don't much care any more."

Tired of typing out Torch's stutter. ;) Assume he's still got it until he starts healing some of that Dex damage.

"Even if he's a murderer, unless he's also got a death wish, he'll see that helping us is a better way to keep himself alive than betraying us," Torch tells Hrakar. "Frankly, I'd rather take the risk so we all have better odds of staying alive." Fishing the keys out of the stack of materials they collected from the [i]Jenivere[/b], Torch looks through them for something resembling a handcuff key. "If his stuff was in the captain's cabin, I wonder..."

If we can duck into the trees to get some shade from the heat, I'd rather just wait out the heat of the day.

Aid Another would be a good idea, but Torch really doesn't do the talking thing - I'm worried about failing by enough to worsen their attitudes. Didn't we have a summoner around here with a Charisma bonus?

Surkoff takes a short break from the digging to address the others, sweat pouring off his brow. "I know that everyone here is hot, tired, thirsty, and scared but we must band together into order to survive. I can not force you to assist in the survival of the group but I can guarantee that those who work the hardest are rewarded the most. There are no captains or passengers, this trip has clearly deviated from it's intended course. You can either pitch in and assure the survival of all or you can do nothing and watch all, including yourselves, slowly perish in this god-forsaken place."Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

At Surkoff's urging Sasha and Ishirou pitch in and help, and you manage to get a shelter up before the worst of the heat strikes. It would be wise to follow Torch's advice and wait a few hours before you undertake anything else.

Except of course if you want to unshackle Jask. As Torch finds a key that looks like it might fit the manacles, Jask nods. "That's the one."

From now on, you will have to roll separately for each one to improve the attitude of the NPCs. I will grant you bonuses on your roll depending on how you talk to them.

Since you have a few hours to kill before the heat gets bearable again, you have ample time to peruse the captain's log (spoilered for length):

Spoiler:

An examination of this log reveals that the Jenivere’s captain seemed to be suffering from some sort of madness that grew over the course of the ship’s final voyage. Earlier entries from previous voyages are precise in recording progress and events along the way, as are entries from the first two-thirds of this last trip.

Yet as one reads further, the more recent the entries get, the less common they become — in some cases, several days are missing entries. What entries do appear are strangely short, focusing more and more on one of the passengers — the Varisian scholar Ieana, with whom the captain seems to have become obsessed. Several entries are nothing more than poorly written love poems to Ieana, while others bemoan Captain Kovack’s inability to please her or catch her attention. Near the end, the entries begin to take on a more ominous tone with the captain starting to complain that other members of the crew are eyeing “his Ieana.” In particular, he suspects his first mate is in love with her, and writes several times about how he wishes Alton would just “have an accident.”

The final entry is perhaps the most disturbing, for in it the captain writes of how he’s changed course for Smuggler’s Shiv at Ieana’s request. He hopes that the two of them can make a home on the remote island, but also notes that the crew are growing increasingly agitated at the ship’s new course. The captain muses that “something may need to be done about the crew” if their suspicions get any worse.

Torch reads the captain's log with growing anger. Out of curiosity, did the captain carry a rapier?

"Deliberate. The bastard did this to us deliberately!" For a moment, the archeologist looks murderous, but then shakes his head. "No, not him. He did it, yes, but she asked him to. There must be something on this island she was looking for, some relic or something. And if she was expecting it, I'd bet good money theirs weren't among the lives lost when the Jenivere wrecked. They're somewhere on this island."

Although Surkoff believes that Jask should stay in irons, I will roll a perception to notice what is going on, since he is working so hard on the camp and burials.
Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (20) - 1 = 19

Surkoff notices something going on over with Torch, Hrakar and Jask and heads over just as Sam is about to unlock Jask's bindings. "Give me those keys!" Surkoff demands to Torch. "The only way that one of those irons leaves his wrists is if it is going to be attached to yours. The man is a criminal and as such will continue to be treated that way as long as I am around." Surkoff extends his hand palm up, waiting for Torch to give him the keys.

Torch looks both angry and disgusted at Surkoff's attitude; he does not hand over the keys. "I really don't recall anyone appointing you... well, anything. Perhaps you didn't notice, but we're rather stuck on this island, and it's just the ten of us. You have no more right to determine his fate than I do, or the dwarf or the old man do. Besides, even back in Corentyn he would at least get the courtesy of a trial before he was convicted (no matter how much of a sham it would be). I'm not interested in leaving a man in chains when he could be helping us survive just because you can't see past a pair of handcuffs."